The Great Burning
by Drusilla2
Summary: Two vampires remember the past (F/A)


TITLE: The Great Burning  
  
AUTHOR: Drusilla  
  
RATING: PG  
  
PAIRING: Faith/Angel  
  
SPOILERS: None  
  
SUMMARY: Two vampires remember the past. (F/A)  
  
DISCLAIMER: The characters aren't mine. They belong to Joss Whedon and Co.  
  
DISRIBUTION: Sure, take it! Just let me know and credit me, please  
  
FEEDBACK: Yes, please!  
  
AN: This work is based on a short piece of fiction called "By The Waters of Babylon".  
  
  
  
  
THE GREAT BURNING  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
She trudges on, her voice humming some ancient melody, her feet sinking into the cold,   
desert-like sand. She wears a robe of soft white cotton, a piece of simple gold jewelry  
hanging from her wrist loosely. Her dark hair is fashioned into a twist on top of her head,  
held down by a metallic clip, a shower of curls escaping from the sides.  
  
Her lips curve into a small smile as she approaches a wooden structure. The flicker of a   
fire can be seen from a single slit in the wall that serves as a window. She pushes the  
door aside and enters the house, her bare feet silent against the stone floor.  
  
She sets her woven straw basket onto a stone slab and continues through the rooms, until  
she reaches the innermost chamber. Her eyes twinkle and she leans against the door's frame,  
her head peering into the darkness.  
  
"Love," She says softly, and he turns, his face thoughtful.  
  
"Which one would you like tonight?" He asks her, gesturing to the animals that are confined  
to the wooden crates.  
  
"Mmm.. I shall have a rabbit," She says, and goes over to pick up a small white creature,  
eyes red and wide in fright. She pats its head lovingly, her slender hand running over its  
smooth pelt gently. "Poor thing."  
  
He picks a fawn that had lost its mother and he runs his teeth over its speckled back.   
The little beast trembles under him, the whites of its eyes showing and its mouth foaming,  
until finally it collapses to the ground, dead.  
  
The vampiress shakes her head in distaste. "Such a mess," she scolds, but her face is  
smiling. She takes the rabbit into the other room, and produces a small silver chalice.  
Taking the creature by the rump, she pierces its throat with a darkened fingernail, and lets  
the blood flow neatly into her glass. When there is no more, she throws the dead carcass  
into a basket, and raises the goblet to her lips.  
  
"I've been thinking." He says, abruptly, leaning against the wall. His hair falls over his  
forehead in a dark mess, and his eyes are a deep deep brown. He wears a robe similar to  
that of his lover's, only in a dark shade of beige. His arms are well muscled and his  
frame is heavy, but not intimidating.  
  
"Oh?" She looks at him, raising her dark lashes.  
  
"Come," He says, taking her hand and leading her into the wilderness.  
  
"What is it--" She starts, but he buts a finger to her mouth and she closes it, suppressing  
a smile.  
  
"Don't say a word." He whispers. He holds her to his side tightly, the wind brushing over  
their pale skin. Her hair falls wild and she laughs, taking the clip from her head. The  
moon slants over the treetops like shattered fragments of glass.  
  
The forest stops, abruptly, and she gasps. Here the earth is a barren red-brown, and no  
life grows from it. The air is thick, heavy, and suddenly she is scared. She looks into  
his eyes, her own wide in fear. "No, no.." she whispers, quivering.  
  
"Love," He says. "It cannot hurt you. Do you not remember this place?"   
  
She shakes her head. "It is forbidden-- It is forbidden to go to the Dead Places." All  
feared the Dead Places-- mortals and demons alike.  
  
He looks at her warmly. "Come. This once. For me."  
  
She stares ahead for awhile, but finally agrees. "This once," She repeats, and he smiles.  
  
The walk, hand in hand, along the god-roads, until they come to the entrance. His   
expression is sad when he sees a plaque of sorts, washed in coloured paint, decorated with  
white designs.   
  
She is frightened, but anxious to adventure. "May we explore?" She asks, in a child-like  
voice.   
  
"Yes," He says, and he releases her hand. She runs down the paved path, her eyes scanning  
the structures for clues, for remembrance. The ruins, the god's houses-- one here, one   
there-- some of them are familiar. She was one of them once, hundreds of years ago, one of  
the gods.   
  
She steps up to one of the peculiar-looking structures, one untouched by god-war, protected  
by strong magick. She remembers this house. Smiling, she pushes the door open, to see an  
interior untouched by time. The paint is still new. Is it day? It is bright-- there is no  
need of the sun. It is magick.  
  
She walks into another room. There is a comfortable-looking seat and a big black box.   
There are people's faces in the box, and they talk: yes, it is very powerful magick.  
Suddenly the room shakes, but the house still stands after the rumble. She runs out to see  
a mass of gods fleeing from metal machines that fly. Flying machines? Strong, strong,  
magick indeed.  
  
She recognizes this. It is the Great Burning. The Destruction. The other structures are   
collapsing, and many of the gods drop dead where they once stood. They have no time to   
scream. Fires are growing, spreading, eating away the landscape...  
  
Poor, poor gods.  
  
She is sad for them. Perhaps they ate knowledge too fast. One of them walks over to where  
she stands, a beautiful dark-haired woman with full lips and wild eyes.  
  
It is herself.  
  
She shakes her head, and everyone is gone. All that remains is the ruins and the dark,  
dusty ashes of the structures that once stood. She runs now, shouting for her lover.  
  
She finds him in a clearing of dirt, where stone slabs stand. Perhaps once there was   
vegetation here, but she can't be sure. She sees his expression and she understands. She  
says nothing, until he looks up to see her standing beside him.  
  
She lowers her head. "I-- I understand. I know why you came. You love her." She gestures  
to the stone.  
  
He blinks. "I don't remember."  
  
She gasps. "You don't remember the one who loved you? The one you loved?"  
  
"I remember a woman who I loved and love. A woman who loves me equally. Who would go to   
the ends of the earth for me. A woman who is beautiful and kind and wise."  
  
She nods. "I'll leave you now."  
  
But he puts a hand onto her arm before she can leave and she looks up at him, her eyes   
glistening with tears, bewildered. "This woman has a beautiful heart and a beautiful soul,"  
he continues.  
  
"Stop!" She sobs. "Why are you telling me this?"  
  
He is silent for a moment. His fingers loose her arm and she backs away. "Because that   
woman is you." He says softly, after a deep, empty breath.  
  
She steps close again, carefully. He holds out his arms and then takes her face into his  
hands. "This is true?" She asks, warily.   
  
A thousand words have not the depth of a simple gesture. His mouth finds hers and they  
kiss: their first kiss, for none of the others before it have ever held such love, passion  
and fire. They break away finally, their lips still in want.  
  
"Angel." She says, slowly, in the Old Tongue.  
  
"Yes, Faith?"   
  
She smiles at that. It is a word she has not heard for a thousand years. "When I was gone.  
I saw. I remembered. I relived. The things that built this place, Angel. It was not the  
gods. It was *us*. Humans and demons. This is our place."  
  
"Yes." He knows.   
  
"We built once." She whispers, letting her hair fly in the wind. She closes her eyes, her  
pale face illuminated by the glow of the moon.   
  
"Let us build again."  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
(end)  
  
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ADDITIONAL NOTES:  
  
In case you did not figure everything out, this piece is set ONE THOUSAND YEARS IN THE   
FUTURE (not the past), a millennium after a great nuclear war (The "Great Burning"). The   
"Dead Places" are the cities that were bombed. They are called the Dead Places because of  
the radiation that would kill anybody that came within a few miles. The nuclear war  
basically destroyed the world, so man (and demon)-kind had to start anew.  
  
All these ideas come from "By the Waters of Babylon".   
  
  
  
  
You've got to review!! I need feedback!  
  
  
  
  



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